Ontario Mineral Inventory

Ontario Geological Survey
Permanent Link to this Record: MDI000000002357

Record: MDI000000002357

General

Commodities

Primary Commodities: Nickel, Copper, Palladium, Cobalt

Secondary Commodities: Platinum, Gold, Silver

Location

Township or Area: Roberta

Latitude: 49° 7' 51.16"    Longitude: -85° 33' 8.53"

UTM Zone: 16    Easting: 605604   Northing: 5443014    UTM Datum: NAD83

Resident Geologist District: Thunder Bay South

NTS Grid: 42F04SE

Point Location Description: OGS Staff member M. Puumala field visit

Location Method: Data Compilation

Exploration History

1964: Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd. conducted an airborne EM and magnetic survey. 1968: Falconbridge drilled 1 DDH totaling 85.65 m. 1998-99: prospector G. Gionet staked the property and carried out beep-mat surveys and sampling, discovering the Moshkinabi Cu-Ni-PGE showing. 2000: Freewest Resources Inc. optioned the property and carried out prospecting, discovering the Kejimalda Zone. 2001: Freewest carried out trenching and sampling. 2002: property reverted back to the Gionets. 2003: Platinum Group Metals Ltd. optioned the property and drilled 3 DDH (not filed for assessment), then dropped the property. 2005-06: G. Gionet carried out beep-map surveys. 2006: CRVD Inco Ltd. optioned the property and carried out sampling, mapping, trenching, soil sampling, and EM surveys. 2007: property reverted back to G. Gionet and partners. 2008: Pelangio Exploration Inc. optioned the property from G. Gionet, M. Gionet, and M. Gionet. 2010: Pelangio drilled 5 DDH totaling 991.22 m. 2023: GT Resources completed an airborne geophysical survey (EM), and 22 diamond drill holes totaling 3,028 m.

Assessment Work on File

Geology

Province: Superior

Subprovince: Wawa

Terrane: Wawa-Abitibi

Belt: Manitouwadge-Hornepayne

Geological Age: Archean  

Lithology

Lithology Comments

Oct 31, 2019 (Therese Pettigrew) - The mafic rocks encountered in the area tend to be strongly deformed and foliated. In places they are noted to appear as gneissic but generally appear as amphibolites. They exhibit a sugary to salt-and-pepper texture and range from fine- to medium-grained and green to greenish brown in colour. Typically they are composed of hornblende+plagioclase+/-quartz+/-epidote+/-biotite and in some cases garnet. The chemical sedimentary units encountered in the area and in drilling appear as chert-rich, magnetite-rich banded silicate facies iron formations. They have been mapped at surface at two locations on the property where they are reported to be rusty and pitted in appearance. In drill core they appear to me mainly composed of bands of chert and amphibolite and contain up to 20-40% pyrite and pyrrhotite as well as minor chalcopyrite. Magnetite also occurs throughout the unit up to 20%. The unit is medium to strongly magnetic throughout with distinct contacts with the surrounding units. The iron formations occur in and around the contact with the mafic and ultamafic intrusions of the Moshkinabi Lake layered complex. The Moshkinabi Lake layered complex is composed of a suite of anorthositic to leuco-gabbroic, and gabbroic to melagabbroic to pyroxenite rocks with minor ultramafic intrusions. Although the layering is crude and deformed, the suite appears to grade from anorthositic in the south west to gabbroic and pyroxenitic to the north of the sequence. The Complex is however very structurally complicated with tight folding visible in the trenches excavated by Freewest on the nose grid of the property (Assessment report 20000006224).

Mineralization

Mineralization Comments

Oct 31, 2019 (Therese Pettigrew) - The stratabound Kejimalda Zone is closely associated with the U-folded contact between medium- to coarse-grained gabbro and pyroxenite. Mineralization occurs within both rock-types and consists of 1 to 7% disseminated chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite containing up to 1925 ppb Pd, 621 ppb Pt, 0.94% Cu, 0.52% Ni, and 493 ppm Co. The PGE-dominant, disseminated sulphide zone has been traced for 2950 m, exhibits an apparent width of up to 155 m (Assessment report 42F04NE2004). Mineralization on the property occurs mainly as finely disseminated to blebby and in cases semi-massive pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. There is a relationship between structural complexity and the intensity of sulphide mineralization and it is also noted that wherever grab samples were taken with visible sulphide mineralization that anomalous PGE results were encountered. Samples taken by Pelangio in mineralization around the nose grid encountered up to 2.5 g/t to 3.8 g/t combined platinum and palladium as well as anomalous copper and nickel. From surface mapping it can also be seen that the sulphide mineralization pinches and swells dramatically along strike and inferably down dip too. DDH PG10-MT-03 encountered 1.01 g/t Pt+Pd in amphibolites from 61-62 m (Assessment report 20000006224). During November of 2000 Freewest Resources excavated and sampled 8 small bedrock trenches near the centre of the Kejimalda Zone. Grab samples from these trenches contained up to 1222 ppb Pd, 290 ppb Pt, 5809 ppm Cu, and 1512 ppm Ni. The overburden trenches cleared in 2001 exposed a complex, gently to moderately dipping, sulphide-rich, low-grade mineralized zone within medium- to coarse-grained, often varitextured gabbro, melagabbro, and pyroxenite. The widest PGE-bearing interval, within Trench T375NW, graded 235 ppb Pt+Pd (PGE) over 50.03 m. The highest-grade interval was obtained from a narrow massive sulphide zone within Trench T550NW that graded 2213 ppb PGE, 2970 ppm Cu, and 7094 ppm Ni (Assessment report 42F03NW2002). Sample 04-BME-01 assayed 6680 ppm Cu, 2810 ppm Ni, 1170 ppb Pt, 148 ppb Pd, 45 ppb Au, and 5 ppm Ag from a massive pyrrhotite lens (Schnieders et al., 2005). Samples collected by OGS staff member M. Puumala returned up to 2413 ppb Pd, 241 ppb Pt, 11,724 ppm Cu, 7322 ppm Ni, 848 ppm Co.

Mar 19, 2024 (Sheree Hinz) - Drilling done by GT Resources in 2023 intersected disseminated copper-palladium-rich mineralization within the Kejimalda Zone. Drilling returned 0.1% Cu, 0.33 g/t TPM ("Platinum + Palladium + Gold") over 24.3 meters including 0.23% Cu, 0.73 g/t TPM over 2.0 meters in hole TK23-142. The Kejimalda Zone extends over a 3-kilometer strike length and ranges in width from a few meters up to 30 meters in width.

Mineral Record Details

References

Mono - Report of Activities 2004, Resident Geologist Program, Thunder Bay South Regional Resident Geologist Report: Thunder Bay South District

Publication Number: OFR6148 Page: 22  Date: 2005

Author: Schnieders B.R., Scott J.F., Magee M.A., Muir T.L., Komar C.L.

Publisher Name: Ontario Geological Survey

Location:

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For detailed information regarding this mineral record please contact the Thunder Bay South Resident Geologist District Office